2023 (expanded) Rugby World Cup for South Africa

by fa0019 Fri 22 Apr 2016, 3:44 pm

doctor_grey wrote:
fa0019 wrote:
doctor_grey wrote:
SecretFly wrote:JFK left a final directive just weeks before he was assassinated that impelled the CIA to stop at all cost South Africa having more than one hosting of a World Cup per 20 year period.

The CIA, feeling guilty about Oswald and all, are trying to keep to the promise.... for old time's sake.

That's the only connection I can find between JFK and this thread...from reading 700 autobiographical books by Kennedy's Women.
I have the same abridged version of JFK and his women, too. I read the same thing. Camelot (the JFK presidency) strictly prohibited SA from hosting more than one RWC. Said it would endanger world security. I thought I read in the Snowdon leaks the CIA is keeping Zuma in charge because no one in his right mind would put a major competition in a country wohch woul elect him. It is all a plot hatched over 40 years ago.

The final part makes more sense then him simply appealing to the electorate.
I always thought it was the Mafia who got him elected. So the mafia was his electorate, no? Just like FIFA.

standard policy of slandering your rivals as witches and getting lookalikes to feature in grainy video stings with prostitutes.

by Rowanbi Fri 22 Apr 2016, 11:42 pm

The Sharks Super Rugby team is considering moving to one of the stadiums built in South Africa to host the 2010 soccer World Cup.

The Sharks say they are in talks with Durban's city council over playing at Moses Mabhida Stadium from next year, though no agreement has been reached.

The fate of some of the expensive new stadiums following the World Cup has been a burning issue in South Africa, with most of them underused and criticized as a waste of money.

The Stormers rugby team decided against moving to Cape Town Stadium after negotiations with the municipality there fell through, leaving that venue with little business. Cape Town was the most expensive of the new stadiums at a cost of around $600 million.

http://sobserver.ws/en/23_04_2016/rugby/5287/Sharks-Super-Rugby-team-considers-move-to-World-Cup-stadium.htm

by doctor_grey Fri 22 Apr 2016, 11:48 pm

“If I don’t have sex every day, I get a headache,” John F. Kennedy

No wonder I have a lot of headaches.................

http://nypost.com/2013/11/10/all-the-presidents-women-3/

by Sin é Sat 23 Apr 2016, 12:56 pm

So safety isn't an issue then at sporting events?

However, he still has doubts over the safety of the athletes, media and supporters after hearing of incidents involving his BBC colleagues during the 2014 World Cup.

“Safety, that has to be the number one priority,” he tells The42. “It has to be safe and comfortable so the athletes can relax and perform to the best of their ability. As long as it’s a safe Olympic Games I’ll be happy.

“Even in the BBC, some people have said they’re not sure about going or not. This is the reality. You have to feel comfortable and confident that things are being done and will be done.

“Two of my colleagues were robbed on the beach in broad daylight during the World Cup. This is what happens and it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re not exempt from what goes on.”

http://www.the42.ie/colin-jackson-rio-olympics-2728791-Apr2016/

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 1:49 pm

Rather wimpy, I'd say. You could get robbed on the beach anywhere - provided there was a beach, of course. Could you imagine arguments like this being made against Barcelona or San Fransciso, for example? But move international competitions away from Europe and North America, and suddenly all the usual probias rise to the surface. Anyway, as mentioned before, athletes from all disciplines will be attending the Olympics in Brazil this year, including rugby 7s, and athletes from all disciplines will be attending the C/Wealth Games in Durban in 2022. There would have to be something really, really wimpy about the rugby community for paranoia like this to effect South Africa's 2023 RWC bid...

by Sin é Sat 23 Apr 2016, 2:24 pm

“Safety, that has to be the number one priority,” he tells The42. “It has to be safe and comfortable so the athletes can relax and perform to the best of their ability. As long as it’s a safe Olympic Games I’ll be happy.

by Hammersmith harrier Sat 23 Apr 2016, 2:31 pm

Rowanbi wrote:Rather wimpy, I'd say. You could get robbed on the beach anywhere - provided there was a beach, of course. Could you imagine arguments like this being made against Barcelona or San Fransciso, for example? But move international competitions away from Europe and North America, and suddenly all the usual probias rise to the surface. Anyway, as mentioned before, athletes from all disciplines will be attending the Olympics in Brazil this year, including rugby 7s, and athletes from all disciplines will be attending the C/Wealth Games in Durban in 2022. There would have to be something really, really wimpy about the rugby community for paranoia like this to effect South Africa's 2023 RWC bid...

Those arguments wouldn't be made against Barcelona or San Francisco that's the point, i'm actually against holding major sporting events in countries with high crime rates, it's nothing to do with being wimpy it's a basic right of safety.

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 4:18 pm

Well, the people who make these decisions clearly don't agree with you. 2010 FIFA World Cup in SA, 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, 2016 Olympics in Brazil, 2022 C/Wealth Games in SA. Two of those events have already occurred, of course, the fans poured in from all over the world, and crime was not a factor. So I'd have to disagree with you, I'm afraid, and personally regard this apparent phobia about staging major international events in regions outside Europe and North America as being straight-up wimpy.

by Hammersmith harrier Sat 23 Apr 2016, 5:58 pm

It's nothing to do with it being outside Europe or North America, it's about these events being held in countries with the finances to do it and being safe. You resort to the same childish argument every single time, about time you grew up.

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 6:11 pm

You have to understand that all the security measures will be in place. These people are not idiots. The fans aren't going to be permitted to get anywhere near the dangerous areas, and the criminals aren't going to be permitted to get anywhere near the fans. We've already seen that South Africa and Brazil are quite capable of doing this. In fact, you'd struggle to find a safer place to travel to than a city or nation that is in the process of staging one of the world's premier sporting events. So I just don't think this argument holds water, it's being exploited by those who have an agenda and simply don't want South Africa to stage the 2023 World Cup. That's why I'm not taking these horror stories about colleagues being robbed on the beach (shock horror!) particularly seriously. If the badminton players, lawn bowlers, netballers and so on, can quite happily travel to SA for the 2022 C/Wealth Games, I hardly imagine the rugby fraternity are going to be quaking in their boots at the prospect of travelling there for the 2023 RWC.

by Knowsit17 Sat 23 Apr 2016, 6:20 pm

Rowanbi wrote:You have to understand that all the security measures will be in place. These people are not idiots. The fans aren't going to be permitted to get anywhere near the dangerous areas, and the criminals aren't going to be permitted to get anywhere near the fans. We've already seen that South Africa and Brazil are quite capable of doing this. In fact, you'd struggle to find a safer place to travel to than a city or nation that is in the process of staging one of the world's premier sporting events. So I just don't think this argument holds water, it's being exploited by those who have an agenda and simply don't want South Africa to stage the 2023 World Cup. That's why I'm not taking these horror stories about colleagues being robbed on the beach (shock horror!) particularly seriously. If the badminton players, lawn bowlers, netballers and so on, can quite happily travel to SA for the 2022 C/Wealth Games, I hardly imagine the rugby fraternity are going to be quaking in their boots at the prospect of travelling there for the 2023 RWC.

And yet the athletes themselves are probably being housed in the nicest hotels, treated to the finest restaurants and bars in the best parts of town and generally insulated from the uglier aspects of the local social situation. The athlete experience isn't the fan experience. Many of the fans themselves have to find affordable accommodation wherever they can on top of the travel costs getting over and are generally far more at risk than the athletes themselves.

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 7:05 pm

The athlete experience isn't the fan experience. Many of the fans themselves have to find affordable accommodation wherever they can on top of the travel costs getting over and are generally far more at risk than the athletes themselves.

You mean all those multitudes of fans who got robbed, mugged or murdered during the 2010 & 2014 World Cups? Or the multitudes who came back moaning about their horrible accommodation and exorbitant travel costs, and wondered why they had ever been insane enough to make such a stupid decision as to go there in the first place, right?

While all the ones we saw dancing in the streets, guzzling merrily in the bars, cheering wildly in the stadiums and generally having the time of their lives must have been the exception to the rule.

Do you also see ghosts and aliens?

by Knowsit17 Sat 23 Apr 2016, 7:19 pm

Well personally I haven't bothered to interview people who attended either WC on their experiences so I can't comment either way. Though realistically if some had been affected by crime in some way we probably wouldn't know as the last thing the SA press were going to do is actively seek out these victims and make their country look worse for it. That would hit tourism as well as opportunities to host future events.

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 7:23 pm

Ah ha! It's all been a big cover up. Interesting . . .

I can't comment either way.

Yes, I can see you are a complete neutral on this.

What about South Korea, just out of curiosity? Would you regard that as a safer option than Brazil or South Africa due to its considerably lower crime rates?

by Knowsit17 Sat 23 Apr 2016, 8:28 pm

Why not? They hosted a decent football World Cup in 2002 and excelled as a team in the process. What's more is they didn't sink beneath the sea under the weight of such an event, which is significant given the crux of your argument is that smaller nations can't physically cope with staging large-scale international tournaments. That and that anybody who might prefer the 2023 WC elsewhere than SA is a wimp, a remark positively dripping with insight.

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 8:36 pm

Well, it's recently come to light that South Korea rounded up and abused thousands of homeless men, women and children prior to the 1988 Seoul Olympics:

"Thousands — the homeless, the drunk, but mostly children and the disabled — [were] rounded up off the streets ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which the ruling dictators saw as international validation of South Korea's arrival as a modern country," reads the report. "An Associated Press investigation shows that the abuse of these so-called vagrants at Brothers [Home], the largest of dozens of such facilities, was much more vicious and widespread than previously known, based on hundreds of exclusive documents and dozens of interviews with officials and former inmates."

Just making the point that terrible things can and do happen wherever major sports events are held...

by Sin é Sat 23 Apr 2016, 8:40 pm

Rowanbi wrote:Well, the people who make these decisions clearly don't agree with you. 2010 FIFA World Cup in SA, 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, 2016 Olympics in Brazil, 2022 C/Wealth Games in SA. Two of those events have already occurred, of course, the fans poured in from all over the world, and crime was not a factor. So I'd have to disagree with you, I'm afraid, and personally regard this apparent phobia about staging major international events in regions outside Europe and North America as being straight-up wimpy.

The people who made these decisions were getting their pockets well lined to overlook such things as security. Wasn't there some sort of a security strike at the 2010 world cup?

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 8:44 pm

Of course, that's the time to strike, if you're in the security business. Just as anti-government protestors seized the opportunity when the World Cup was held in Brazil. But practically every time there's a World Cup or Olympic Games anywhere, this kind of thing goes on.

Anyway, I just think you guys need to find a better argument against South Africa than security concerns, because that one just doesn't hold water. Big events have been staged there in the recent past, and big events will be staged there in the near future, and nobody's running around like chicken little claiming the sky's about to cave in...

by Hammersmith harrier Sat 23 Apr 2016, 8:51 pm

1988 was 28 years ago, not really relevant to the argument especially considering South Korea were effectively a dictatorship at the time not the democracy that they are now.

by Sin é Sat 23 Apr 2016, 8:57 pm

Rowanbi wrote:Of course, that's the time to strike, if you're in the security business. Just as anti-government protestors seized the opportunity when the World Cup was held in Brazil. But practically every time there's a World Cup or Olympic Games anywhere, this kind of thing goes on.

Anyway, I just think you guys need to find a better argument against South Africa than security concerns, because that one just doesn't hold water. Big events have been staged there in the recent past, and big events will be staged there in the near future, and nobody's running around like chicken little claiming the sky's about to cave in...

The security guards were being exploited.

Thousands of guards tasked with ensuring safety at the stadiums have gone on strike in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town - hours before the kick-off of World Cup matches - citing a wage dispute.

The country's police have been forced to take over security duties at four stadiums.

In one of the latest incidents, 1,000 officers from around Gauteng Province had to be diverted to Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg to manage the 55,000 football fans set to attend the game hours before Brazil took on North Korea.

http://www.bbc.com/news/10329679

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 9:27 pm

So the 2015 Rugby World Cup should never have been held in England then, by your method of evaluation:

LONDON — There's nearly a week to go before the Olympics kick off in London and British officials are stuck playing defense.
On Thursday, the country's Olympics secretary said 1,200 extra troops were put on standby in case embarrassing manpower shortages get any worse, while U.K. border agents announced a strike for the day before the games begin.
The one-two punch of bad news comes with only eight days to go, unbalancing a government which might have hoped to bask in glow of pre-Olympic buildup. By far, the most embarrassing episode has been the inability of security contractor G4S PLC to deliver on its promise to supply about 10,400 guards to help keep the games safe — a last-minute admission which has forced the government to call in 3,500 soldiers to help meet the shortfall.
Speaking Thursday, Olympics Secretary Jeremy Hunt acknowledged that even that may not be enough, telling the BBC that the government put the extra 1,200 troops on standby "in the unlikely situation that G4S's performance deteriorates from where it is today."

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 9:31 pm

Gee, every time I look at a major sports events, I'm seeing strikes happening just beforehand:

Organizers of the Athens Summer Games warned Greece that more strike action like the 24-hour strike that began at midnight Wednesday could threaten the Summer Games in August.

But, no, let's just talk about SA and pretend that's a really good reason to prevent the tournament returning to the African continent Whistle

by Sin é Sat 23 Apr 2016, 9:32 pm

Thousands of guards tasked with ensuring safety at the stadiums have gone on strike in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town - hours before the kick-off of World Cup matches - citing a wage dispute.

LONDON — There's nearly a week to go before the Olympics kick off

by Rowanbi Sat 23 Apr 2016, 9:37 pm

U.K. border agents announced a strike for the day before the games begin.

You missed this bit. I'm sure that was entirely accidental on your part. It's very clear you are entirely netral on this issue and are certainly not clutching at straws and presenting irrelevant arguments that could be applied to just about every host nation of every major sports event ever, including England... Rolling Eyes

by Hammersmith harrier Sat 23 Apr 2016, 9:49 pm

The benefit of having a pretty big army is that things like that don't really affect countries like England, all it meant was that G4S got paid less.

by aucklandlaurie Sat 23 Apr 2016, 10:47 pm

Hammersmith harrier wrote:The benefit of having a pretty big army is that things like that don't really affect countries like England, all it meant was that G4S got paid less.

A solution brought about by there being cooperation and support between the event organisers and The British Government.

If the South African Government is going to support SARU or World Rugby with a World cup in 2023. its hard to imagine it happening without a string of political conditions attached. Hopefully Mbalula will not be Minister of Sport for much longer.

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 8:14 am

Interesting interview with leader of the opposition Julius Malema here, just to give some insight into the current political situaiton: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2016/04/julius-malema-ready-remove-zuma-government-force-160422094620380.html

by aucklandlaurie Sun 24 Apr 2016, 9:34 am

Mbalula and Malema used to be mates, South African politics is very murky.

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 11:01 am

The interviewer in the video was a bit pushy, hardly letting the guy speak at times. Also, I can't imagine a white politician being drilled about his expensive watch and clothes like that. Seems like some white folks just can't get used to the idea of black men wearing clothes and jewellery . . .

That aside, sounds like he's going to be a little more pro-active on the reclamation front than the ANC, who are basically working with the affluent white minority and foreign investors, with very little trickling down to impoverished masses. thumbsup

by The Great Aukster Sun 24 Apr 2016, 11:30 am

My experience is that South Africa is a really dangerous place to visit, with people who have been there physically threatened or actually attacked. For example a month ago in Capetown a couple I know had a guy approach them with a knife and ask for their money and phones - another guy chided him and chased him away because he was bad for the tourist trade and then tried to sell them drugs!

It is risible that SA promote the tourist attractions in the country in conjunction with big tournaments because that is the time all the police are severely stretched. To borrow from Die Hard with a Vengeance: "Look around, man. All the cops are into something. It's Christmas. You could steal City Hall".

OTOH maybe World Rugby should be about helping less well-off countries. Giving South Africa another tournament so soon after the last shows the philanthropic nature of rugby, and the Boks are are an important team to support (especially as they as the only real competition to the ABs).

by Sin é Sun 24 Apr 2016, 11:37 am

Rowanbi wrote:The interviewer in the video was a bit pushy, hardly letting the guy speak at times. Also, I can't imagine a white politician being drilled about his expensive watch and clothes like that. Seems like some white folks just can't get used to the idea of black men wearing clothes and jewellery . . .

That aside, sounds like he's going to be a little more pro-active on the reclamation front than the ANC, who are basically working with the affluent white minority and foreign investors, with very little trickling down to impoverished masses.

Didn't listen to it all, but in the introductory bit they say no one knows what his source of wealth is.

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 1:21 pm

Didn't listen to it all, but in the introductory bit they say no one knows what his source of wealth is.

Covered during the interview. He claims it's all accounted for, but I don't recall the details.

My experience is that South Africa is a really dangerous place to visit,

Scroll up. This issue has been debated ad infinitum

by Hammersmith harrier Sun 24 Apr 2016, 1:27 pm

Do you have a monopoly on what can and can't be debated then?

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 1:31 pm

No, officer. Just trying to help the guy out. If he put a comment on here, he probably wants to know what others think about it. So rather than have the whole debate again, I thought I'd point out we've just been over that - and not for the first time. Very Happy

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 1:43 pm

Oh, a disappearing post. Better disappear my response then too Whistle

by Sin é Sun 24 Apr 2016, 2:23 pm

Rowanbi wrote:Didn't listen to it all, but in the introductory bit they say no one knows what his source of wealth is.

Covered during the interview. He claims it's all accounted for, but I don't recall the details.

He said a group of colleagues built his mansion for him and someone else gave him his range rover.

I've read up on him elsewhere. I'm not surprised everyone is worried about his rise to power. He has been convicted of hate speech, money laundering and corruption.

He was still a member of the ANC when he was convicted of hate speech.

by SecretFly Sun 24 Apr 2016, 3:19 pm

Rowanbi wrote: Seems like some white folks just can't get used to the idea of black men wearing clothes and jewellery . . .

...after about 60 years of Swing, Rock, Soul, R&B, Jazz, Motown, Little Richard, James Brown, Micko Jackson, Prince, MTV, Rap/Hiphop etc etc???

Are you kidding me? I think most of the gold that was once in Fort Knox is now around the necks of black men Wink

That Fort Knox joint is more than likely empty.

by aucklandlaurie Sun 24 Apr 2016, 3:28 pm

Rowanbi wrote:The interviewer in the video was a bit pushy, hardly letting the guy speak at times. Also, I can't imagine a white politician being drilled about his expensive watch and clothes like that. Seems like some white folks just can't get used to the idea of black men wearing clothes and jewellery . . .

That aside, sounds like he's going to be a little more pro-active on the reclamation front than the ANC, who are basically working with the affluent white minority and foreign investors, with very little trickling down to impoverished masses.

Youre not familiar with AljaZeera then?

by Sin é Sun 24 Apr 2016, 4:07 pm

Rowanbi wrote:
That aside, sounds like he's going to be a little more pro-active on the reclamation front than the ANC, who are basically working with the affluent white minority and foreign investors, with very little trickling down to impoverished masses.

I take it you must be a big fan of Daniel O'Connell then, Rowanbi?

by fa0019 Sun 24 Apr 2016, 7:05 pm

Rowanbi wrote:The interviewer in the video was a bit pushy, hardly letting the guy speak at times. Also, I can't imagine a white politician being drilled about his expensive watch and clothes like that. Seems like some white folks just can't get used to the idea of black men wearing clothes and jewellery . . .

That aside, sounds like he's going to be a little more pro-active on the reclamation front than the ANC, who are basically working with the affluent white minority and foreign investors, with very little trickling down to impoverished masses.

Maybe just maybe he was asked those types of questions because

A) he was made bankrupt in 2014 after not paying his tax bills.
B) He only gained his initial wealth by being given state tenders as favours for his previous political allegiances (i.e. government backed contracts for state provided projects. I.e. State gives him R50 million to build a road. He builds a road for R30 million and pockets R20 million. It's the definition of state theft.
C) He was actually convicted on the above issue.

Given he still owes the state millions of rand in unpaid tax bills and fines would you not ask someone how they are paying for their fancy clothes, watches, cars etc. These days his line of defence is... they're all gifts!!!!

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 7:56 pm

Sounds like our president. But he's not black and nobody asks him how he affords his expensive watch and suit. Rolling Eyes

Maybe just maybe he was asked those types of questions because

he threatens the stranglehold over the economy affluent whites and their foreign business partners are able to maintain under ANC leadership... idea

by Hammersmith harrier Sun 24 Apr 2016, 8:12 pm

It's all about inherent racism then is it?

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 10:08 pm

As regards the interviewer's questions on Malema's attire, I'd be inclined to agree with you.

Regarding the current political situation in SA I'd suggest it probably has more to do with class warfare and exploitation of the impoverished masses by the wealthy elite. This is hardly confined to South Africa, of course. The US and Britain do this to their own people, as well as all the countries they've invaded - and especially those where they've propped up dictatorships. That's what all the CIA-backed coups have been about - from Iran in 1953 right up to Ukraine in 2014. In Africa they've generally preferred the Big Man dictatorships and authoratarian rulers; basically a post-colonial equivalent of the village chiefs, who themselves had been a European invention, replacing traditional councils of elders and making unilateral decisons, which were enforced at the point of a gun where necessary. South Africa's case was different, because the white minority retained control in the post-colonial era and were a willing partner in European trade and business deals. So that's how it evolved under Apartheid; the ruling class and foreign investors plundered the nation's vast natural resources, with little of the wealth trickling down to the majority, whose physical labour, too, was ruthlessly exploited. We now know that agreements were reached at secret meetings between ANC members (including the imprisoned Mandela) and the ruling elite, along with representatives of major foreign companies such as British mining giant Consolidated Goldfields, on power-sharing and collective control of the economic system in the post-Apatheid era. So all that changed was that political apartheid was replaced by economic apartheid under this facade of 'democracy.'

by Hammersmith harrier Sun 24 Apr 2016, 10:12 pm

I was being sarcastic and your mindless anti UK and US rants are hilarious to say the least.

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 10:25 pm

I took the time to provide a serious answer to your question, whereas you, by your own admission, are making sarcastic comments on the highly sensitive issue of racism and describing the notion of Anglo-American manipulation of other countries' leaderships as 'hilarious.' So it seems that 'mindless' would be a pretty good description of your own approach to this issue, and we can therefore add 'hypocritical' and 'juvenile' to boot.

by The Great Aukster Sun 24 Apr 2016, 11:30 pm

Rowanbi wrote:My experience is that South Africa is a really dangerous place to visit,

Scroll up. This issue has been debated ad infinitum

Other than the fact that SA is an exceptionally violent country, was there any conclusion on whether that should affect the allocation of the RWC?

With the murder rates increasing year on year, maybe South Africa should host the tournament again before complete meltdown makes it impossible.
http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/110133/cape-town-is-now-among-the-10-most-violent-cities-in-the-world/

by Rowanbi Sun 24 Apr 2016, 11:39 pm

Already answered ...

You have to understand that all the security measures will be in place. These people are not idiots. The fans aren't going to be permitted to get anywhere near the dangerous areas, and the criminals aren't going to be permitted to get anywhere near the fans. We've already seen that South Africa and Brazil are quite capable of doing this. In fact, you'd struggle to find a safer place to travel to than a city or nation that is in the process of staging one of the world's premier sporting events. So I just don't think this argument holds water, it's being exploited by those who have an agenda and simply don't want South Africa to stage the 2023 World Cup. That's why I'm not taking these horror stories about colleagues being robbed on the beach (shock horror!) particularly seriously. If the badminton players, lawn bowlers, netballers and so on, can quite happily travel to SA for the 2022 C/Wealth Games, I hardly imagine the rugby fraternity are going to be quaking in their boots at the prospect of travelling there for the 2023 RWC.

by Hammersmith harrier Sun 24 Apr 2016, 11:43 pm

Rowanbi wrote:I took the time to provide a serious answer to your question, whereas you, by your own admission, are making sarcastic comments on the highly sensitive issue of racism and describing the notion of Anglo-American manipulation of other countries' leaderships as 'hilarious.' So it seems that 'mindless' would be a pretty good description of your own approach to this issue, and we can therefore add 'hypocritical' and 'juvenile' to boot.

Read and understand what is written before jumping in, YOUR views on everything are hilarious and sarcasm is the best they deserve, emphasises the contempt I have for somebody with such a clear racial prejudice.

by The Great Aukster Mon 25 Apr 2016, 12:06 am

Rowanbi wrote:If the badminton players, lawn bowlers, netballers and so on, can quite happily travel to SA for the 2022 C/Wealth Games, I hardly imagine the rugby fraternity are going to be quaking in their boots at the prospect of travelling there for the 2023 RWC.[/i]

Fine, you do not take the muggings and murders seriously, not everyone can bury their head in the sand to that extent.

Neither is everyone in the "rugby fraternity" a strapping current rugby player ready to take on someone in the street with a knife. Comparing them to athletes at the peak of their powers who are lifted and laid and generally corralled in high security villages is about as far removed from a normal fan experience as you could get.

You're right a lot of the rugby fraternity won't be quaking in their boots, but that'll be because those boots won't be standing on South African soil in the first place.

by No 7&1/2 Mon 25 Apr 2016, 8:10 am

Well Rowanbi did say his preference was SA because it had the most black people. I still don't think that the racial makeup of the population is something that World Rugby will be basing their decisions on though.

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